25 years ago: Just in time for tornado season: New sirens installed

In just a few days, the long-standing battle over a downtown Lawrence mall was to get its first election. Three mall-related questions appearing on the April 7 ballot were expected to bring out large numbers of interested voters. Developers of the mall proposal had waged a major advertising campaign (including several full-page ads in today's edition) urging residents to indicate their support for closing Massachusetts and Vermont streets as well as other unspecified streets for the mall and for spending public money on the project.

For those interested in local history, this was an important anniversary in Lawrence. On this date 100 years earlier (1887), women had gone to the polls in Lawrence for the first time, voting for a mayor and other city officials. National attention had been focused on what was called the "Kansas experiment" of allowing women to vote.

The purchase of additional emergency warning sirens was to be the topic before the Douglas County Commission at their next meeting. There were at that time 19 warning sirens scattered throughout the county, with two more awaiting installation -- a new one at Kansas University's West Campus and an upgrade at the Baldwin power plant. The 1987 cost for purchasing and installing a siren was about $15,000.